Guitar Center
Nashville Guitar Technician Ron Matthews works on a Fender Stratocaster
that was damaged at Soundcheck Nashville during the flood of May 1, 2010.
The Nashville Guitar Center staff aided in the cataloging and disassembly
of various musical instruments and Pro Audio gear in order to help assess
damages.

A shattered
Kay acoustic guitar (Circa late 1950’s or early 1960’s) sits
on the floor of Soundcheck Nashville, waiting to be assessed for damage.

Guitar Center
staff helped catalog hundreds of musical instruments and pieces of Pro
Audio equipment damaged from the flood. Here sits a row of guitar amplifiers
waiting to be assessed for damages.

— Guitar Center
begins a comprehensive relief plan for victims of the Nashville flood
to get their instruments and studios back to normal as quickly as possible
—

— Guitar Center
Professional (GC Pro) to work closely with commercial and private recording
studios to help re-build their operations so they are up and running
with minimal downtime —

— Guitar Center
partners with the MusiCares® Nashville Flood Relief Fund to help
local Nashville musicians in need of emergency financial assistance
—

WESTLAKE
VILLAGE, CA, May 11, 2010 — In direct response to the devastation
from the recent floods in Nashville, Tennessee, Guitar Center, the world’s
largest musical instrument and professional audio retailer, has launched
a dedicated initiative titled “Operation High Ground”
for Nashville Flood Relief, to help musicians, songwriters, recording
studios and audio professionals re-build their lives. The goal of the
program is to help Nashville’s music community get back on its
feet as quickly as possible to keep the music going in Music City. Guitar
Center’s President, Greg Trojan, made the announcement.

As
the events of May 1st unfolded, Guitar Center management was kept apprised
of the Nashville storm situation as the unprecedented floods destroyed
several communities. Immediately, the company began to formulate a strategy
to take advantage of its extensive resources, both locally and nationally,
and put into place a comprehensive, multi-tiered plan that addresses
the various musical instrument and professional audio needs of the flood
victims.

Key
elements of "Operation High Ground" include the following:

•
Dedicated team specialists from both Guitar Center and GC Pro are on
the ground in Nashville to interface with and advise flood victims on
the best way to either repair or replace their musical instruments and
recording gear as quickly as possible.

•
Guitar Center has mobilized its distribution network to capitalize on
the nearby Indianapolis warehouse, to ensure that if a replacement instrument,
recording product or piece of audio equipment is not in stock in Nashville,
it will be expedited to arrive as quickly as possible.

•
A special toll-free Tennessee direct hotline (877-687-5405) to the High
Ground Emergency Team has been established for customers who have
experienced catastrophic loss. Callers can use this number to get rush
access to musical gear purchases, along with personalized priority shipment
and delivery logistics.

•
Guitar Center is partnering with MusiCares® to assist the Nashville
area music community by providing emergency financial assistance to
help those affected get through this crisis. Donations can be made at
any of Guitar Center’s 214 stores, or online at www.GuitarCenter.com.

•
TimePayment Corporation, an equipment leasing provider, is working with
Guitar Center and GC Pro to develop a lease offering that will help
the victims of the floods replace their equipment.

•
Guitar Center has partnered with local Nashville FM radio station 104.5,
The Zone, to help musicians rebuild their devastated communities. Beginning
in May, for a six-week period, 104.5 will be holding live broadcasts
from storm-damaged areas. Guitar Center representatives will be on-site
to evaluate damaged gear and provide advice and assistance.

•
Guitar Center has also partnered with local Nashville FM radio station
103 WKDF and the historic 3rd and Lindsley music venue to host a charity
country music show titled “Putting The Music Back in Music City.”
The show will be broadcast nationwide, and listeners will be solicited
for donations to aid flood victims. Guitar Center will donate guitars
that will be signed by the various performing artists and give one lucky
listener in each market a signed guitar for donating to this event.

“Nashville
has the greatest concentration of musicians, recording studios and audio
professionals anywhere in the world,” stated GC Pro Director Rick
Plushner. “The entire community has banded together to rebuild
Music City, and Guitar Center and GC Pro are proud to be a resource
for those players and studios that have suffered a loss. We look forward
to helping everyone get back on their feet and keeping the music alive
in Nashville.”

Photo
File 1: HighGround_Guitar_Repair.JPG
Photo Caption 1: Guitar Center Nashville Guitar Technician Ron Matthews
works on a Fender Stratocaster that was damaged at Soundcheck Nashville
during the flood of May 1, 2010. The Nashville Guitar Center staff aided
in the cataloging and disassembly of various musical instruments and
Pro Audio gear in order to help assess damages.

Photo
File 2: HighGround_Damaged_Guitar.JPG
Photo Caption 2: A shattered Kay acoustic guitar (Circa late 1950’s
or early 1960’s) sits on the floor of Soundcheck Nashville, waiting
to be assessed for damage.

About
Guitar Center/GC Pro
Guitar Center is the leading United States retailer of guitars, amplifiers,
percussion instruments, keyboards and pro-audio and recording equipment.
Our retail store subsidiary presently operates more than 200 Guitar
Center stores across the U.S. In addition, our Music & Arts division
operates more than 100 stores specializing in band instruments for sale
and rental, serving teachers, band directors, college professors and
students. We are also the largest direct response retailer of musical
instruments in the United States through our wholly owned subsidiary,
Musician’s Friend, Inc., and its catalog and Web site, www.musiciansfriend.com.
More information on Guitar Center can be found by visiting the Company’s
Web site at www.guitarcenter.com.

GC Pro is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on
the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios,
audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound
venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary
individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert
consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest
equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC
Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

The Guitar Center logo is a registered trademark of Guitar Center, Inc.
Other brand or product names may be trademarks of the respective companies
with which they are associated.

MEDIA CONTACT: Robert Clyne, Clyne Media, Inc. at (615) 662-1616

About
TimePayment Corporation
TimePayment Corporation is a wholly owned operating subsidiary of MicroFinancial
Inc. (NASDAQ: MFI). Established in 1986, operating through its subsidiaries,
MicroFinancial has become the premier micro-ticket equipment finance
company with over 733,000 customers and over $1.17 billion in lease
originations.

About
MusiCares
Established in 1989 by The Recording Academy®, MusiCares provides
a safety net of critical assistance for music people in times of need.
MusiCares' services and resources cover a wide range of financial, medical
and personal emergencies, and each case is treated with integrity and
confidentiality. MusiCares also focuses the resources and attention
of the music industry on human service issues that directly impact the
health and welfare of the music community. For more information, please
visit www.musicares.com.